Rose slipped her sunglasses onto her face as they stepped out into the sun. They had about an hour, maybe an hour and a half left of daylight. Leon was beside her, and Rose sent a quick enquiry to Jackson for anything they could use to track Shen May. He was annoyed with her still, but it only took him about five minutes to send her an email with an address. Shen May had a family home outside the city.

"Come on, handsome," she said while waving him over to her sleek black car that was parked across the street. He admired the fine hunk of metal, appreciating her taste, though he would have preferred a motorcycle. They were smaller, faster, and could zip through tight spaces faster than a full sized vehicle. However, he didn't have the luxury of being picky, so he slipped into the passenger side and smirked as the engine purred to life under Rose's care. Pulling out into the street, the ride started out in relative silence, neither knowing what to say. Leon was still in shock that she was back. That she had agreed to continue this mission with him.

"So are you just going to disappear again when this is done?" He asked lowly, putting his guard up in case she hurt him again. Rose didn't give any indication that he'd bothered her, other than taking a long time to think over her answer.

"I don't know," she admitted. When he didn't reply, she cast him a quick glance. "The company I work for...they have good goals. They want to help people, but as a private agency, not government controlled. But...they ordered me to kill Jason. I don't do that. Not if I can help it."

"Who are you working for?"

"They call themselves Blue Umbrella. They are a small group, growing bigger, more tactical. They hate Umbrella...Wesker...as much as we do."

"Blue Umbrella?" he repeated, trying to keep the disbelief from his voice. "What, they're trying to do the whole 'rebrand the monster' thing?"

Rose glanced at him quickly before her gaze returned to the road, her fingers tightening slightly on the steering wheel. She wasn't the type to be defensive, but Leon could tell that the name struck a nerve. Her hands, always so steady in the past, now carried a subtle tension. "Not exactly. They're more like a counter-organization. Private military, research, tactical stuff... But their goal is to take down the remnants of Umbrella's influence. They have the resources to make a dent, but…" She trailed off, clearly thinking over her next words. "But they don't operate by the same rules as we do."

Leon tilted his head, his thoughts running as he tried to connect the dots. "So, they're like... a mercenary group with a vendetta?"

She didn't answer immediately, which told him everything. After a long pause, she finally spoke, her tone even but tinged with something more. "Something like that. The thing is, Leon, I believe in what they're doing. The people in charge—they're not like Wesker. But they also don't have the same moral compass we do. They do what needs to be done, even if that means making hard choices."

Leon's mind immediately went to that night in Spain—the chaos, the bloodshed. The fact that she had disappeared without a trace after that mission haunted him. He didn't know what Rose had been through, not completely. But hearing her speak like this made something in his chest tighten. "And Jason? Why'd they want him dead? What made him a target?"

Rose's jaw tightened, and for a moment, she said nothing. The silence felt heavy, oppressive, like the weight of something unsaid hung between them. Finally, she spoke, her voice lower this time. "I don't know." The admission made her uncomfortable. Double-guessing everything she thought she knew about the company. Her eyes began to glow behind her glasses, her fists tightening on the steering wheel. But Leon, ever the observant type, placed his hand on her knee, and she relaxed as if on reflex.

Leon wasn't sure he liked the sound of that. It made him uneasy. The Blue Umbrella she spoke of didn't sound like the kind of organization he could easily get behind. He wasn't sure where she fit into all of it, but one thing was clear: Rose wasn't just the soldier he remembered. She was entangled in something much bigger than either of them. And that didn't sit right with him.

Rose's shoulders dropped slightly at the feel of Leon's hand on her knee, the warmth of his touch grounding her in a way she didn't expect. For a second, she forgot about the cold, calculated woman she'd become in this new life—forgot about the mission ahead. It felt like she was just Rose again, the agent, the woman Leon had known before everything got tangled up in lies and manipulation.

But the moment slipped away too quickly.

"Sounds like they're more into the dirty work than they let on," Leon remarked, trying to keep his tone casual, though the knot in his stomach told him otherwise. Sensing her turmoil, didn't push. He didn't need to ask again, not now. Instead, he let the silence stretch out between them, his hand still resting gently on her knee.

She finally broke the quiet, her voice low and almost too quiet to hear. "I've been second-guessing everything about Blue Umbrella... ever since I came back. The way they operate... it's not the same as what I thought it would be."

Leon squeezed her knee once, a silent gesture of reassurance. "We keep getting surprises thrown at us, that's for sure."

Neither of them said anything else for the rest of the car ride. Leon looked out the window, his thumb brushing back and forth on her leg every now and again. Old habits die hard, he realized. He'd done the same thing, the constant need to be touching, every time Rose had slipped through his fingers. Every time she came back, it was like he would break out in hives if some part of him wasn't touching her. He scoffed lightly to himself. The old Rose would have accused him of having abandonment issues.

"clingy child syndrome," he could just hear her mocking him in his head. The teasing lilt to her voice. He'd probably shoot back at her with some sort of snarky, flirty remark. He ached to make the daydream a reality. Maybe not that specific one, but to crack a joke...to feel normal again...that's what he wanted.

The address Jackson had sent them to was up ahead: an abandoned warehouse, tucked in a section of town that seemed to have been forgotten. No signs of life anywhere except the occasional flicker of motion behind broken windows. Rose pulled the car into a tight space at the far end of the lot and turned off the engine.

Without saying a word, they both climbed out of the car. The air was crisp as the evening began to settle in, a slight breeze ruffling the edges of their clothing. Rose pulled her jacket tight, her sunglasses now perched on her nose like a shield against the night. Leon wasn't sure if she was just trying to block everything out, or if it was a way of keeping herself at a distance—something he understood all too well.

He glanced over at her. Her stance was different now. Intent. Whatever doubt she'd had seemed to have faded, replaced by the focus he was used to seeing in the field. This was no longer the Rose he had once known—this was someone else, someone who'd seen too much and done too much to turn back now.

He could hear the echo of her boots against the asphalt as she led the way, her movements quick and decisive. Leon followed her, his hand naturally hovering near the grip of his gun. The place was quiet, too quiet, and every instinct in him screamed to be cautious. They walked for a good five minutes until the decrepit side of town turned into lush and green. Trees and shrubs bloomed along a long paved driveway. They could see Shen May just up ahead, walking up the porch of a big house that indicated old money. She was with a man wearing a grey suit, who bowed to her in respect, before they made their way inside.

Leon and Rose shared a look, falling into a role together that had been long since forgotten. Silently, they followed behind Shen May and her mystery butler. The mansion loomed before them, a sharp contrast to the dilapidated streets that led up to it. This place was well-maintained, almost unnervingly so. The lawn was pristinely manicured, the hedges trimmed with surgical precision, and the old stone façade gleamed in the fading sunlight, as if the mansion itself were trying to impress anyone who came near.

It was a home—someone's home, not just an estate or a hideaway. There were fresh flowers in window boxes, and the grand pillars at the front entrance were adorned with subtle, elegant touches that spoke of wealth and attention to detail. As Rose and Leon approached, the place felt less like a place of secrecy and more like a stage. Everything about it felt lived in, like the kind of house where people gathered for dinner parties, where families celebrated holidays. But there was no warmth in the atmosphere. There was only the quiet, oppressive hum of something being hidden beneath the surface.

They stood in the shadow of a large oak tree, watching as Shen May and the man in the grey suit entered the house, the front door swinging open with a soft creak and closing quietly behind them.

"Looks nice," Leon muttered, his eyes scanning the surroundings. "Too nice. No signs of struggle. Nothing out of place." His fingers tightened around the grip of his gun instinctively. "Makes it harder to trust."

"Exactly." Rose's voice was barely above a whisper as she scanned the mansion with the same calculating look she had given every target. "But someone like Shen May doesn't just live in a house like this. She's hiding something. And whatever it is, it's behind that door."

She took a step forward, as if propelled by something deeper than instinct. Leon followed her, his pace just behind hers, both of them falling into their old rhythm without thinking about it.

The house stood quietly in the evening light. A few well-dressed cars were parked outside, and from what Leon could see, there were no obvious signs of anyone on guard. Just the soft glow from the windows, some faint sounds of movement from inside—the sound of someone walking across hardwood floors, the faint hum of a TV or radio in the distance.

Rose's eyes narrowed as they approached the side of the house. "Let's keep it quiet," she muttered. She moved quickly, slipping through the darkness with the precision of someone who had spent years moving unnoticed.

Leon stayed close, his eyes never straying too far from her. They moved toward a narrow side door, tucked behind ivy-covered trellis. No one would see them here, not unless they were looking directly at the house. Rose had already started working on the lock with a practiced hand, fingers steady, the small set of tools clicking with familiarity. Leon's eyes surveyed the area with practiced concentration. He had a gut feeling that things weren't going to stay quiet for long. They hadn't come all this way just for a conversation. He didn't know what he expected, but one way or another, he was going to get answers.

The space beyond was bathed in the soft light of overhead chandeliers, the wooden floors gleaming with a polished sheen. The scent of fresh linen and something faintly floral lingered in the air. It was a far cry from the cold, antiseptic warehouses they were used to, or the damp, musty hideouts of low-level operatives.

This was a home—a real one. And that made everything feel wrong.

They slipped inside, moving as quietly as they could through a long corridor. The space was wide, airy, with high ceilings that stretched above them. Paintings hung on the walls—oil portraits of men and women in formal attire, some familiar, others unknown. It was all so lived in, so human. It struck Leon as strange that someone like Shen May would be part of this. The woman he remembered was cold, clinical, tactical, someone who had no interest in things like comfort, let alone luxury.

There were no guards, no obvious threats in the first few rooms they passed. But as they reached the center of the house, Leon could feel the tension mounting. They had entered a space of wealth and power, a place where people didn't just live—they ruled their environment. His hand went to his gun again, more out of habit than necessity.

They came upon their first obstacle outside the master bedroom. It was the guy who had escorted Shen May inside. He was a young Chinese man, his suit finely tailored and well taken care of. Leon had his gun out in a flash, and Rose darted forward so fast she was merely a blur. Her hand closed around the mans mouth, muffling his cry of surprise. She pulled him back, and Leon pointed his gun at him.

"Shut up," Leon said, his voice like stones dropping. The man froze, his eyes fixed on the barrel of the gun, and he shut his mouth with a sharp click of his teeth, swallowing audibly in nervousness. Leon jerked his head sharply at the master bedroom door, and Rose moved to the side with the man still in her grasp as Leon side stepped over to open the door.

Rose hauled the guy with her, shoving him into the room as Leon followed quickly behind her. The room was as large as a living room would be, with tall floor to ceiling book cases and beeping medical equipment. There was a large Cali king four poster bed in the middle of the room, white drapes and curtains concealing the sleeper from the outside world. The room stunk of decay, and Rose wrinkled her nose in disgust. There was Shen May, standing nearest to them, and an older Chinese man stood to their right near the far corner of the bed. The man was homely, wearing a red cotton shirt and brown blazer, large round glasses on his round face.

"Start talking," Leon demanded, keeping his gun trained on the younger man as the old man threw his hands up in shock upon their entrance. Leon tossed the man to the side, choosing to point his gun at Shen May instead. The butler ran at Leon as if to defend the woman, but Rose reacted on pure protective instinct. Her body moved out of her control, twisting her lower half and sending a powerful kick at the mans chest. His body flew back, connecting with the bookcase that was several feet away, and she winced at the way his ribs cracked when he fell.

The old man and Shen May both gasped, looking over in fright, but Leon just steadied his gun and tried to regain their attention. "Hey!" He shouted. He glared down the sights of his gun, Rose coming back to stand beside him like a dutiful body guard. "Whenever you're ready," he prompted.

The silence stretched on for a moment, only broken by the methodic beeping of the medical equipment. Finally, something flittered across Shen May's brown eyes and she gestured to the bed, turning more to face the curtains. "The man lying here is Jun See. He's my little brother." Her fists clenched as she swallowed, emotion straining her voice and pitching it higher as she let everything out into the open. "The US Government turned him into this!"

Rose, curious, narrowed her eyes and could hear the raspy breath coming from the bed where the scent of decay was nearly overpowering.

Leon spared it a glance, but his attention returned to Shen May just as quick as if he hadn't looked at all. "What are you and Jason up to?"

Shen May glared, her manicured eyebrows pulling together in a pissed off expression. She stepped forward, but restrained herself from getting any closer with Rose giving her the death stare. She couldn't see it, but she could feel it, and the glow coming from behind the glasses only served to make her even more angry. Maybe Leon was the wrong person to be rationalizing with, she thought. If he's got one of them on a leash. Leon's stare was unwavering though, and she wasn't getting out of it. "Like he told you before," she answers. "We're trying to expose a conspiracy. I cam here to get the proof to out Defense Secretary Wilson as the one behind it."

"What are you talking about?"

"Wilson was on site during the civil war with Panamstan. He ordered us to sterilize the city. With my brother, and other people still alive in it! So, we dropped the MK, and then the Mad Dog unit made contact, and they'd saved my brother. I came to see him...but...he was already turned into one of those...things." She paused, her voice wavering with emotion. "Jun See was with a special squad on a top secret mission. Wilson was a major general at the time, and the commanding officer. But he was also working with a pharmaceutical company to make bio-organic weapons for military use."

"And Panamstan was just a test-run for his bioweapons," Leon realized out loud. Rose felt her stomach drop to her feet and dread made her feel like she was several pounds heavier. She hadn't been told everything, and as she stared wide-eyed at Shen May, she wanted to a hole to open up in the universe and swallow her whole. She hadn't said Blue Umbrella was behind it...but, the inference was made. That's why Eugene wanted Jason and Shen May dead. "Son of a bitch," Leon sighed, shaking his head and lowering his gun.

"The Mad Dog unit had all been infected in a skirmish, and Jun See had given them his portion of the inhibitors the company had given them. It saved their lives. Jason decided not to tell HQ about Jun See and he contacted our grandfather instead," she gestured to the old man, who was sweating bullets in his corner. "Since grandfather is the head of a conglomerate here in Shanghai, he used his connections to smuggle Jun See out. The Mad Dogs unit returned to base."

"And Wilson gave them a hero's welcome, medals and all," Leon interrupted with spite.

Shen May nodded. "As long as they took the inhibitor, they'd stay alive and they wouldn't turn...and Wilson supplied the inhibitor." She turned away to stare into the fire, a forlorn expression on her face. "He held that over their heads and used the Mad Dogs Unit for personal, covert operations. They were Wilson's pets."

Leon scoffed bitterly, his irritation and betrayal mounting. "And thanks to them, he got promoted to Defense Secretary."

"Exactly."

Rose couldn't believe what she was hearing. Leon wanted her go to back to that? Back to a government who was just as bad as all these companies trying to wipe freewill and life from the face of the earth? What was the point in picking a side? They were all the same? Who was the right bad guy?

"Even though he's a senior US official now," Shen May continued, breaking through her thoughts. "He continues developing bioweapons with some pharmaceutical company on the side. We still haven't figured out who they are yet."

Leon shot an almost apologetic look towards Rose. "I've got a couple ideas."

"Hmm. Wilson wants to be rich and powerful, and the inhibitor is the key to that kingdom. So it doesn't matter what company is behind him yet. We have to stop Wilson first."

"Then Wilson is the one who forced Jason to start the outbreak at the White House and sabotage the sub."

"Wait, what?" Rose asked, her head swiveling to look at him. This was new information. Leon shook his head at her. Now wasn't the time to get into that.

"He wanted to get the president pissed off enough with China to start a war," Leon finished with an exaggerated sigh.

The old man, Shen May's grandfather, spoke up for the first time. His voice sounded like he'd been a heavy smoker for years. "When I smuggled Jun See out of Panamstan, the virus had transformed him so much, I could not recognize him." He moved closer to the bed, pulling the sheets away so that they could get a good look. Rose, though she'd been able to smell him, still bit her lip and turned away at the sight of the corpse in the bed, his head half eroded and crystalized over with some sort of black rocky substance. Leon moved forward, fighting to keep a straight face.

"I have spent my life savings to find a way to rid him of the thing that is eating away at him," the grandfather finished.

Rose sneered. "That's cruel. Jun See isn't there anymore. He died. Six years ago. That is nothing more than a corpse."

Shen May turned on her, a snarl on her face, fierce and venomous. "You think I don't understand what's been done to him? That's my blood, my family! I spent years trying to save him." Her hand gripped the edge of the bed so tightly her knuckles went white. "I know what he became. But I couldn't just leave him to rot. No matter what he turned into, he was my responsibility!"

Rose's eyes narrowed behind her sunglasses, the hard edge of her voice matching the intensity of Shen May's. "You're deluding yourself. You didn't save him. You kept him alive as a grotesque shell of a man. You're clinging to something that was already gone long before you even tried."

Shen May's lips curled into a bitter smile. "And what would you know about saving someone, huh? You're just a weapon, just like me. You've killed—you've erased people. Don't act like you're above me."

Leon shifted his stance, his hand hovering near his gun, but he didn't make any move to draw it. He had seen this kind of exchange before—when the wounds were too deep and the pride too strong. He wasn't sure where this conversation would go, but he knew it wasn't going to end well.

"Enough." The old man's voice cracked through the tension like a whip. He leaned heavily onto the bedframe, but there was a fire in his eyes as he glared at both women. "You think I wanted this? You think I wanted my grandson to turn into that?" He pointed weakly at the deformed body on the bed. "You think I wanted to see him like this? I was trying to fix it, but all the money, all the years, it wasn't enough. He was already gone before I even realized it." His voice trembled with grief, a raw, broken sound that felt like it came from the depths of a man who had been carrying an unbearable weight for far too long.

Rose's expression softened ever so slightly, but she didn't say anything. She didn't need to. The old man turned back to his grandson with watery eyes and his voice wavered.

"I failed you."

Shen May calmed herself down in the wake of her grandfathers interruption, and turned back to Leon. He wore an expression that mostly sad, probably feeling everyone's loss as his own. He cared so much for every human life. It was something Rose loved about him...something she missed about herself.

"I went looking for evidence against Wilson," said Shen May. "Because I wanted revenge. Jason wanted out from under Wilson's control, so I decided to work with him." She and the old man walked towards a bookshelf and he raised his hand to press on a false book, making the bookshelf rasp and click as a safe deposit box opened up. "And after six years of digging, we realized the proof we needed to bring Wilson down was right under our noses. All of the prototype bioweapon soldiers had chips embedded in their bodies. Those chips were designed to record their vitals as well as all their combat data."

As the grandfather opened the save and pulled out a plastic box, he turned and walked it towards Leon.

"Chip, huh?" Curiosity peeked, he wore a hard expression, examining the box carefully.

"Everything about Jun See is recorded on that. Including who created him and who sent him into battle." Shen May lifted a little glass container from the box, a tiny golden chip stored inside it. "He thinks all the evidence was burned to ash."

"Including your brother," Leon chipped in.

Shen May's gaze hardened as she turned to Leon, the resolve in her eyes undeniable. "Jason believed that if we went public with this, we could expose Wilson and put an end to the development of bioweapons. And him."

Rose scoffed indignantly, and opened her mouth to say something snarky, but a loud crash and boom shook the walls and the floor. Everyone gasped, planting their feet so they didn't fall over. Rose was back at Leon's side in an instant, both of them on high alert, and Rose pulled back Leon as the roof caved in. Large chunks of debris fell, separating them and the butler from Shen May and her grandfather. As the rest of the room began to crash down, Leon launched himself at Shen May, forcing her out of the way of a falling ceiling. Rose leaped up, pushing the butler out of the way as well, trying to see through the sudden blaze of flame that had entered the room.

The grandfather crawled up on the bed with Jun See, while the butler was crying out in Mandarin and trying to get the man to move. Rose rushed over in a blink, grasping onto the old man, but he batted her away. "No! Leave me!"

"Grandfather!" Shen May cried out as the room continued to crumble. Rose gave the old man a withering look, turning to grab the butler, but he'd been crushed by the wall caving in. She had no choice but to respect the old mans wishes and started out of the room, following where Leon and taken Shen May. She was still screaming their names, struggling against Leon.

"We gotta move!" He was trying to convince her. Rose's eyes glowed once again, fearing that Shen May was going to be the reason Leon got hurt. She yanked the woman off her feet and away from Leon.

"Go!" She shouted. "I got her!"

Leon nodded and began sprinting to the exit, Rose hot on his heels with Shen May screaming in her ear.